How to enter the Claim $400 Expenses in Turbo Tax Online If i worked from home due to COVID-19 using Temporary flat rate method?

[KodiacandMolly]

Did you ever get a response from Turbo Tax regarding this?  It keeps telling me I don't qualify for this.  

[KodiacandMolly]

I do not see any of these instructions you have stated.  Can you provide screen shots?   Your program keeps telling me I don't qualify.  REALLY!!!  I worked from home for almost four months and you're telling me I don't qualify!!!  Your program isn't that user friendly.  Next year, I will you a different program.

[hockryman]

I spoke with Turbotax rep and he showed me that the figure appears on my return but the software doesn't appear to use the $400 for any calculation to reduce my wife or my tax payable. It litterally has no bearing on my return and the rep would just say I guess your circumstances are such that your tax payable is not reduced. That does not seem possible and I believe the software is not using the figure.

[arrow20157]

I don't know, and unfortunately I don't remember the link i had that did talk about this. The article said it's is not a dollar for dollar return and it's possible to not make any difference, depending on your income. I know it's a pain but i guess one could put in a less income to try and see if it does make a difference. If not, you may have uncovered a bug.

[arrow20157]

KodiacandMolly - On the page where you're getting "...do not qualify...", you have to check BOTH boxes. The msg should then go away. Press Continue, then on the next page it should ask you how many days.

[pbcsd]

So I see others have been having similar issues.  

This has to be the most frustrating of software at times.  So if I click on forms, go to T777 S, it looks like I have to somehow put an "X" in the box where it asks "You worked from home in 2020 due to Covid 2019", and in the Temporary Flat rate method.

However, clicking on the white box does nothing at all.  Which is why even when I enter the days it calculates to zero, presumably because I haven't put an X in the box, which the software doesn't allow me to do??  WTH?

[pbcsd]

@arrow20157, where are you seeing those options?

[pbcsd]

Okay, so apparently to have an X appear in any of those boxes, you have to click on the box, then hit "Enter", which puts an X there (not remotely intuitive).

Having said that, even with an X in Worked from home in 2020 due to Covid, and x in employer did not reimburse, and an X in temporary flat rate method, still when I enter the number of days it calculates to zero??

Is there some limit to folks over a certain income, as I didn't think that was the case?

[pbcsd]

Wow, talk about making a simple form incredibly difficult to populate, quite humorous given it's the "temporary flat rate method" which is meant to simplify things.

As far as I can tell, if you're like me and don't use the Easy Steps method to fill out our taxes, your SOL for T777.  Doesn't work properly, so you have to painfully go through the Easy Steps method, recomplete a bunch of stuff, click though a bunch of stuff until you hit the T4 section where you need to say you're eligible for Covid19 deductions, then keep on going until you get to the expenses section where you can finally enter your days, etc.

Hope that helps someone else, though if you've found this post, you've likely been just as frustrated.

[akhan1]

Hi - To claim COVID work from home expense in the detailed method, How to enter the amount from multiple T777s forms (COVID Work from Home expense) as I moved places in 2020? Per CRA you are required to fill separate T777S if you moved residences. Turbo tax doesn't allow to upload information from multiple T777s forms.. please advise how this can be done? Also is there a way to upload T777s forms in turbo tax ?